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Arranging a burial

If you've appointed a funeral director, they will help to arrange a burial on your behalf, when someone has died. You'll need to give them all of the necessary paperwork including:

Any pre-purchased grave deeds

Proof that you are the next of kin of the person who bought the grave, if they have died

The death certificate

To bury in an existing grave we'll need authorisation from the grave owner, or from the person who the deeds for the grave have been passed to, if the owner has died. If you are not the existing grave owner and don't have the grave deeds in your name, you'll need to appoint a solicitor to prepare a legal document, called a 'declaration' for you.

Your funeral director can complete the application forms for a burial. We'll need four to five working days notice for a grave to be dug, prior to the burial taking place.

You can have cremated remains interred in a grave in any of our cemeteries. We can advise you about the cost of opening an existing grave to have this done.

If you've chosen not to appoint a funeral director to arrange a funeral, please contact us for further information.

Placing a headstone on a grave

You must allow six months to pass after a burial for the ground to settle, before a permanent headstone or memorial is placed on a grave, unless there is already a concrete raft installed. A concrete raft allows you to have a permanent and secure headstone attached by a stonemason at any time. Only accredited stonemasons can work in our cemeteries, you can find a local stonemason on our register.

The grave deeds that you purchase are for the exclusive rights of burial only. The land the plot is on remains the property of the council. There is a charge for the right to erect a headstone on a grave to cover our administration and inspection fees.

You can also apply for permission to have a kerb set around a grave, as well as other memorials and vases for holding flowers.